Judge: Student Can Wear Pro-Gay Jesus T-shirt

BY Josh Hinkle

April 05 2012 3:31 PM ET

A Waynesville, Ohio, student will be allowed to wear a T-shirt with the
slogan "Jesus Is Not a Homophobe" to school, a federal judge in
Cincinnati ruled Wednesday.

U.S. district court judge Michael Barrett said Waynesville High School student Maverick Couch would be allowed to wear the shirt, pending the final decision on a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Wayne Local Schools, the Dayton Daily News reports.

"We're glad that Maverick is able to wear his shirt on April 20th," Christopher Clark, a lawyer with Lambda Legal, told the paper. "However, a student's First Amendment rights are not restricted to one day of the year. We will continue to fight."

The lawsuit states that principal Randy Gebhardt and the school district violated Couch's First Amendment rights when they forced him to turn his shirt inside out for the National Day of Silence in 2011. According to the Dayton Daily News, if Couch wins in the case, the school will allow him to wear his shirt to school and will also pay damages, court costs, and legal fees.